Scott Eastwood Explains Why He Didn't Use Dad's Famous Last Name Earlier in His Career

Scott Eastwood explains why he didn't use dad Clint Eastwood's last name and instead went by Scott Reeves earlier in his acting career.Credit: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images

Scott Eastwood doesn't need his famous dad, Clint Eastwood, to make it in Hollywood -- or his last name! In a new interview with Access Hollywood, the 27-year-old actor explains why he didn't use his father's last name when he started out his career.

"Everyone wanted to represent Scott Eastwood, right? That's the cheapest game in the book," Eastwood explained. "I wanted to be an actor for me and to see if I could do it."

Instead, he decided to go by Scott Reeves, using mom Jacelyn's maiden name. (Scott Reeves, however, is also the name of a well-known General Hospital actor.) Eventually, he decided to embrace his father's last name.

"Sure, I've had doors open for me," Eastwood, who has had roles in Flags of Our Fathers, Invictus and Trouble with the Curve, admitted of making the name change. "But if you walk into an audition room and you can't deliver . . . no one's gonna hire you for the job." He added, "I'm gonna look at the glass half full and say that I've had a lot of great opportunities in my life because of my father and because of the way I was raised and the environment I was raised in."

Eastwood is next set to appear in the David Ayer-directed World War II film Fury, oppositeBrad Pittand Shia LaBeouf. Before he made a name for himself, however, Eastwood's resume included stints as a bartender and construction worker. "People assumed that I would have everything handed to me, but that couldn't be further from the truth," he told the October issue of Town & Country. "I was on my own just doing the grind."